Citing the unique circumstances in the making of the COVID-19 vaccine, Anakalusugan Party-List Rep. Mike Defensor expressed concerns on Sunday, Oct. 25, that Filipino children could be among the last to receive any form of immunization from the deadly disease.
“All the ongoing final stages of human clinical trials to determine the safety and efficacy of potential COVID-19 vaccines are for now targeting only the general adult population who are 18 years of age or older,” Defensor, House Committee on Health vice chairman, said in a statement.
“While COVID-19 vaccines may possibly be approved for emergency use on the general adult population by the second half of 2021, drug regulators around the world, including our own Food and Drug Administration here, are bound to require further clinical studies to ascertain the safety of the boosters on children,” he pointed out.
According to Defensor, children and pregnant women are usually the last to be tested when it comes to experimental biological products. He also noted that pharmaceutical agents “are targeting the general adult population.”
“We must stress that all the prospective COVID-19 shots in advance trials are unlike other vaccines—such as those for measles, polio, and tetanus—that were designed from the start to be given to children,” he said.
The party-list lawmaker made the remark as the Department of Health (DOH) prepared to launch its month-long immunization drive for babies and toddlers against measles-rubella and polio.
Widespread immunization against COVID-19 is not expected until mid-2021, despite anticipation of progress in producing available vaccines, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Several experimental coronavirus vaccines are already undergoing the last phase of human trials around the world. The trials are expected to last three to six months, or until the first quarter of 2021.
The Philippine government is eyeing the immunization of an initial 20 million Filipinos once it gets its hands on a vaccine. Expected to be prioritized for the shots are senior citizens and individuals with comorbidities.
The country has an estimated population of 110 million.